ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday the country deliberately decided to stay away from an ongoing conference on Afghanistan in Moscow, though it reiterated its commitment to be part of any initiative that had the potential to strengthen the peace and security of the war-ravaged country.
The two-day conference of national security advisors (NSA) of regional states began on Wednesday and brought together officials from India, China and Iran along with Central Asian countries.
This is the fifth round of the dialogue that was originally initiated by India in November 2021. Pakistan took the decision to skip the Moscow meeting at a time when it is trying to procure discounted oil from Russia and planning to jointly construct a gas pipeline with it.
“We have chosen not to participate in the Moscow meeting of regional stakeholders,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told journalists during her weekly news briefing, adding that her country was willing to attend all international initiative focusing on Afghan peace and security that could lead to constructive discussion.
Pakistan also decided to refuse India’s invitation to the NSA-level meeting on Afghanistan in 2021 by describing the administration in New Delhi as “a spoiler” which was not in a position to play the role of a peacemaker.
“Pakistan’s stance has been very clear over the years that it will not be part of any initiative on Afghanistan which has been taken by India,” Abdul Basit Khan, Afghan affairs expert and research fellow at a Singapore-based think tank, told Arab News.
He added that another reason behind Islamabad’s decision of not participating in the conference could be its administration’s suspicion that India was instigating militant factions based in Afghanistan to intensify attacks in Pakistani cities.
“In my opinion, Pakistan should have gone [to Moscow] instead of leaving the field empty,” Khan continued. “Islamabad should have conveyed categorically and unequivocally Pakistan’s point of view on Afghanistan instead of leaving the seat.”
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been strained in recent months due to border skirmishes and an uptick in violence across the country by a proscribed militant network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leaders are said to be based in Afghanistan.
Pakistani authorities have formally urged the interim Taliban government not to let armed groups use its territory to target other states.
Last December, Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Kabul also came under attack in what was described by officials in Islamabad as an “assassination attempt” against their country’s chargé d’affaires.
“Pakistan’s Chargé d'affaires to Afghanistan, Ambassador Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, is still in Pakistan,” Baloch told journalists during the briefing in response to a question, “and we are considering all the circumstances that would require his return.”
Pakistan sits out Moscow meeting of regional countries on Afghanistan
https://arab.news/rkg7x
Pakistan sits out Moscow meeting of regional countries on Afghanistan
- The NSA-level meeting of regional countries on the war-torn state was first launched by India in November 2021
- Experts say Pakistan has decided not to participate in any initiative on Afghanistan that is launched by New Delhi
US freezes immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Pakistan
- Immigrant visas to be suspended from Jan 21, tourist visas unaffected
- Move targets “public charge” concerns as Trump revives hard-line immigration rules
ISLAMABA: The United States will pause immigrant visa issuances for nationals of 75 countries, including Pakistan, from January 21, the State Department said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump presses ahead with a hard-line immigration agenda centered on financial self-sufficiency.
In an update published on its website, the State Department said it was conducting a comprehensive review of immigration policies to ensure that migrants from what it described as “high-risk” countries do not rely on public welfare in the United States or become a “public charge.”
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the department said.
The pause applies specifically to immigrant visas, which are issued to people seeking permanent residence in the United States. The department said applicants from affected countries may still submit applications and attend interviews, but no immigrant visas will be issued during the suspension.
According to the State Department, the affected countries include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Thailand and dozens of others across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
The department said tourist and other non-immigrant visas are not affected, and that no previously issued immigrant visas have been revoked. Dual nationals applying with a valid passport from a country not on the list are exempt from the pause.
The State Department did not indicate how long the visa pause would remain in effect, saying it would continue until its review of screening and vetting procedures is completed.
The announcement underscores the breadth of the Trump administration’s renewed immigration crackdown. Since returning to office last year, Trump has revived and expanded enforcement of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law, which allows authorities to deny entry to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court and later rescinded under former president Joe Biden.
The visa freeze also comes amid an intensifying domestic enforcement push. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded operations nationwide, drawing scrutiny over its tactics. Last week, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation in Minneapolis, sparking protests and renewed debate over immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
